Over 55s are set to be at the forefront of Freeview takeup in the UK over the next two years, with channels such as BBC4 and ITV3 set to benefit the most.
A new report from media analyst DGA says that digital switchover has so far occurred at an uneven rate, with viewers aged 55+ (particularly those in the C2, D and E social groups) lagging behind in multichannel take-up compared to younger demographics.
However, the report adds that we are now at a turning point for the 55+ group, with rapid conversion over the next two years (mainly to the DTT platform).
In 2006, 58.5% of viewers aged 55+ in the C2DE social groups had access to multichannel services, but DGA forecasts a rise to 82% by 2008.
This accelerated switchover of older viewers could have an interesting effect on the performance of some channels, particularly as viewers aged 55+ tend to watch high volumes of television and are less likely to be affected by new media innovations such as IPTV and VOD than younger viewers.
Freeview channels with an older audience skew such as BBC4 and ITV3 are likely to benefit from this ‘grey boom’, says DGA analyst Dr. Farid El-Husseini, while younger-skewing channels like ITV2 and E4 are likely to make relatively small gains.
DGA is currently constructing a model to assess changes in actual viewing time to 2012, and both universe and viewing time forecasts will be integrated into a new channel share forecast due to be released in March 2007.
A recent report from JupiterResearch claims that Freeview will be the big digital switchover winner in the next five years, with pay-TV companies such as Sky and NTL:Telewest set for a struggle to win customers (see Freeview To Be Digital Switchover Winner).
The most recent Communications Market: Digital Television Progress Report from Ofcom revealed that by the end of September 2006, almost three out of every four UK television households, or 73.3%, viewed digital television on their main TV set (see Digital TV Shows Strong Growth).
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